On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the artist's death, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is pleased to present Georges Braque, the most ambitious retrospective held in Spain to date of the work of Georges Braque (1882 1963), one of the most prominent figures on the early 20th century avant-garde scene. This chronological overview covers every period of his artistic career, from his early Fauvist phase to his final series dedicated to studios, birds, and the landscapes of Varengeville.

Thanks to generous loans from the Centre Georges Pompidou and other major international public and private collections, the show features nearly 250 pieces, including some of the greatest masterpieces by a man who, along with Picasso, laid the foundations of Cubism and invented the papiers coll s or "pasted papers" collage technique. The exhibition also takes a closer look at his still lifes and their repeated use of the gu ridon table and fruit bowl motifs, his Can phores paintings, his postwar billiard tables, and the studios and birds produced towards the end of his life, which amplify and sum up his artistic research.

Georges Braque explores other fascinating perspectives with a collection of rarely shown documents and photographs that offer a glimpse of the artist's most personal side. Of particular interest is Braque's collaboration with Pablo Picasso during the Cubist years, the resonance between his art and music (he played several instruments, including the accordion, flute, and violin), his friendship with composer Erik Satie, and his affinity with poets like Pierre Reverdy, Francis Ponge, and Ren Char, and important intellectuals of his time such as Carl Einstein and Jean Paulhan. Finally, an important part of this retrospective is given over to exploring Braque's work as a stage designer in the 1920s, with a unique installation design conceived exclusively for Frank Gehry's building.

Georges Braque is a retrospective that aims to highlight this artist's pivotal role in the history of art, the importance of which has often been underestimated. Brigitte Leal, curator of the exhibition, said: "His status as the official artist of Gaullist France undoubtedly diminished his importance in the eyes of the reactionary generation that followed, condemning him to relative obscurity for several decades. This exhibition offers unique insight into an exceptional artist whose motto, recorded in the diaries published as Le Jour et la Nuit, was, 'One must not imitate what one seeks to create.'"

Guggenheim Museum

Zero Espazioa
Avenida Abandoibarra 2
Bilbao 48009 Spain
Ph. +34 944 359000
informacion@guggenheim-bilbao.es
www.guggenheim-bilbao.es

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Related images
  1. The Port (Le Port), winter-spring 1909, Oil on canvas, 40.6 x 48.2 cm, Washington, National, Gallery of Art,Gift of Victoria Nebecker Coberly in memory of her son, John W. Mudd, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Landscape in L'Estaque (Paysage de l’Estaque), 1906–1907, Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris. Gift, 1986, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © Philippe Migeat - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Dist. RMN-GP
  3. Still Life with Red Tablecloth (Nature morte à la nappe rouge), 1934, Oil on canvas, 81 x 101 cm, Private collection, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © Leiris SAS Paris
  4. Canephores (Canéphores), 1922, Oil on canvas, 180,5 x 73 cm each, Christian Marclay, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris. Bequest Baronne Eva Gourgaud, 1965, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © Bertrand Prévost - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Dist. RMN-GP
  5. Guitar (La Guitare), 1912, Charcoal, wood print paper glued on paper, 70,2 x 60,7 cm, Private collection, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © Leiris SAS Paris
  6. Large Nude (Grand Nu), winter 1907–june 1908, Oil on canvas, 140 x 100 cm, Centre Pompidou, Musée national d'art moderne, Paris. Gift Alex Maguy Glass, 2002, Georges Braque © VEGAP, Bilbao, 2014, Photo © Georges Meguerditchian - Centre Pompidou, MNAM-CCI/Dist. RMN-GP